My Ili-Lily
by HappyMaskedSalesman
Summary: 'There are still days when I catch myself thinking of him, and I have to remind myself that he's gone.' Ilia struggles to cope with the loss of her childhood friend.
1. Distracted

Chapter One

Distracted

I find myself with a trembling hand above my heart trying to calm myself with each passing sunset.

I stood there for hours, which later became days that soon turned into weeks. Then lastly I awaited months for his return to our village. Every sunset that passed I grew more and more disappointed, certain that he wouldn't come back.

Father told me not to worry of Link, he said that he's a man and can take care of himself. I wanted to believe him, but I couldn't. How I miss him so, and his beautiful Epona. I miss the days of stealing her away to the spring and wash her, knowing that a while later he would show up in search of her.

Thinking back, I never really had the chance to thank him for the trouble he's gone through with restoring my memory. How hard it must've been for him to have finally found me and realizing that, at that time, I had no clue of who he was. My childhood friend, who I have grown to love and enjoy every moment with him. We would tease each other constantly, like an older brother would do to his younger sister.

_Please, come home._

* * *

Six.

Seven.

Eight months have passed, and I have slowly moved on from waiting.

I have grown out of my depressing state of those months, and am now officially next in being Ordon's mayor. And have taken responsibility of the children, especially Rusl and Uli's little one, Ellie. Such an adorable name for her. She's grown so much since the time we came back from Kakariko Village.

It's funny how such a bright, bubbly, sweet child can change one's mood in seconds.

She gave me hope towards my future, to be hopeful that I may marry a man who will support me and to be not only a wonderful husband, but also a great father. In truth I don't think I'll ever be ready for such a big event in my life, but Father thinks otherwise. He can't wait for the day that my "prince" will come and sweep me off my feet because he wants someone to be there for me when he's gone.

I clear my head of thoughts like those that distract me from watching over the children, why must they always choose to be by his house? Can't they just play by the stream in the village?

I sigh as I look up at the sky, _It's alright, Ilia. Stay calm, it's almost twilight. That means it's almost supper time and they will have to return home sooner or later._

Just as I was about to check on Beth and Colin who had run off together, Ellie began tugging on my pant leg. "What is it little one? Do you want walk around?" She gurgled some unintelligible words with a smile, causing me to look at her wide-eyed. "I'm taking that as a yes." I got up and dusted my backside and grabbed little Ellie's hands into each of my own.

But all too soon there was a sound of the bell, I look over to where the practice dummy was and see Talo and Malo talking.

"Hey!" I called out to them in a playful voice, "Dearest children of mine, it's time for supper."

"But Ilia," Talo began, "Can't we stay a bit longer?"

"No my little cuccoo, your parents would be fairly disappointed in me. Now, where did Beth and Colin run off to?"

_Where could they be? ...Perhaps the Spring?_

"Well, my little cuccoos off you go. Fly back to your homes, I have to go check on the others."

The young brothers darted toward the entrance of the village, leaving me with little Ellie. I picked her up and held her in my arms for a moment before heading to what used to be ...our place. With Ellie in my arms I began walking toward the Spirit Spring in hopes of finding my two lost little cuckoos.

"Colin? Beth!" I called out to them, "The bell has rung...rang? It's made that _b__ing-a-ling _sound, it's time to head home my little ones!"

With no success we kept moving on, almost to the healing waters. Glancing at the sky I notice the sun has not yet fully set. Just before entering laughter was heard. I stopped in my tracks, _Yes! I knew they'd be here._

"Alright Ellie, it seems that your older brother Colin has not heard the bell. Shall we enter?" The little girl I held giggled and reached out in the direction of her brother. I hushed her by placing a finger my lips and then to hers. I set her down holding her tiny hand in mine as we walked in.

Just as I suspected, my lost cuccoos were sitting on the edge with their feet in the waters.

"There you are," I said in my playful voice, "have my two stray cuccoos not heard the bell? I'm sure both of your parents will worry."

The children looked startled and quickly strapped on their sandals.

"Sorry Ilia, I, we didn't know that is was _that_ late already." Colin said as he walked over take his sister's hand.

"We'll be home in no time, Ilia." Beth said, rushing after her younger friend, but before she advance any further, she stopped near the gate, "Oh, and Ilia?"

"Yes?"

"Sorry, if we made you worry. We didn't mean to cause you any trouble." She sighed.

"Beth, don't worry about it. It's fine." I smiled, "On your way, would you mind letting Father know that I'll be home a later?"

She nodded and ran off toward the village.

I was alone again, in the place that used to cause so much pain. I sat down and hugged my knees, it wasn't long before twilight would completely take over and dominate the Ordon sun with it's counterpart; the moon. Memories flooded my mind of when we would sit here in silence for hours on end, enjoying each others company without having to say a single word. Now that I think about it, Beth and Colin reminded me of a much younger Link and I.

A breeze blew, making the leaves on the trees rustle and the water cooler.

"I just hope that wherever you may be, whatever that's keeping you from coming home, I just want you to be happy." I sighed.

"I am happy."

I jumped at the all too familiar voice. _It couldn't possibly be him._ I slowly looked over my shoulder and sure enough Link was standing there with Epona.

"Link," I breathed, "It's been so long..."

I couldn't help but notice that he was with a girl, she was on Epona and she too had long ears like him. She was wearing an elegant violet and white dress and had soft blue eyes, not as fierce as Link's. She had long dark hair that was held back with a low braid. She appeared to be wearing some sort of solid gold material around her shoulders and had a matching head band with a blue crystal in the center.

Our eyes locked and she smiled. My face reddened at our exchange.

_...She's beautiful._

* * *

_I don't know whether I should continue this or not. I still have a few ideas in my brain, but that all depends if you are interested in reading more... so leave a review telling me if I should write chapter two and so on._


	2. Maybe

Chapter Two

Maybe

"Yes, I know." He let go of Epona's reins and walked towards me, "Ilia, I'm so sorry." We stared into each other's eyes, I suddenly threw my arms around his neck and buried my face in his chest. He hugged me back, "I've missed you my Ili-Lily,"

After a while we finally let go and tears welled up in eyes, "Why did you take so long to come home?"

"Because of her," He whispered, and pointed to the girl who was now standing beside Epona using her fingers to comb through her mane. "She makes me happy."

I grabbed his arm and pulled him back to the spring, away from her, I wanted to speak to him _alone_. "How long will you be staying?"

"Just for the evening, I came back so that I could say goodbye," I frowned, "I came to see you." He gently pulled his arm away and sat on the edge, like old times. He tugged on my pant leg motioning that I should sit beside him, "Let's talk."

"What about, exactly,"

"Why it took so long to return, why I chose her over Ordon." I bit my lip, I didn't know what to expect, "Ilia, throughout this whole journey you and I have been through some pretty messed up crap. The things I had to go through for you guys, the challenges and trials I faced, the feelings of hatred, anger, and disgust of the things I've seen...it's hard to explain."

"I can try to understand" I mumbled quietly, he placed a hand above mine and our fingers interlocked. Before he opened his mouth to speak he lightly squeezed my hand and sighed.

"But you can't," He said sounding irritated, "Even if you knew what I had to do before _and _after finding you...what I became, you wouldn't be able to look at me the same again. And... I don't want that."

"What about her?"

"She's different." He stated, "She's been through a lot worse. And, I almost lost her as well."

_"...as well."_

"Who is she?"

Link got up, dusting himself off with his right hand and pulled me up, never letting go of my hand. He began walking back to where Epona and the mystery girl were. As we got closer she was whispering loving words into the horse's ear causing her to whinny in delight. She laughed lightly, her voice was gentle and smooth.

He had let go of my hand and placed it on the girl's lower back, she was slightly taller than him, he held her right hand in his and their fingers intertwined, "Ilia," he said, "this is Zelda," My eyes widened it she couldn't possibly be _Princess_ Zelda, could she? "Zelda, this is the girl I've been telling you about, my childhood friend."

I felt my face redden, _So he hasn't forgotten about me._ A small smile spread across my face as I bowed my head in respect, "It's an honor to meet you, Princess."

"Ilia," She spoke softly, I lifted my head, "such a beautiful name. Please, there's no need to address me in such a formal fashion, I prefer to be called Zelda." Her voice was light and delicate.

"Thank you, I was named after my mother, Lillian."

I turned my attention back to Link, "So it's getting pretty late, it's supper time and Father is expecting me. Where are you guys going anyways? Are y'all going back to the castle?"

I heard Zelda sigh and Link glanced at her, "We don't know yet." Suddenly tears began to travel down Zelda's flawless face, Link immediately pulled her into his arms and she started to sob quietly into his neck. He ran his index finger repeatedly up and down her bare back. We locked eyes for a moment, "The castle is off limits," I looked at him, puzzled, "It's one of those things-"

"...That's hard to explain, I understand." I interrupted as I placed a hand on Zelda's shoulder, our eyes met, "Princess, I'm sorry if I offended you. If you need a place to stay, you are always welcomed here."

She composed herself quickly, wiping the tears away and managed a small smile, "Thank you, Ilia, for offering your home to me. But I shouldn't be the one who should decide if I stay, it's Link." She looked into Link's eyes lovingly, holding both of his hands in hers. "Can we?" She asked softly.

He was silent.

"I have to go, Father's probably worried. If you do decide to stay then I'll see you guys off in the morning. Goodnight Link, Zelda." I said.

The sky is much darker now, the chirping of the birds have died down, I made my way back to the village and see that the lanterns have been lit. I pass by Sera's Sundries, shadows of the family are seen moving about through the closed curtains. While walking on the path that leads to my house I couldn't help but think of Link's closeness with the princess, I wonder how much she had to deal with to not be able to go back to the castle and how she met Link. _I'm not jealous._ I said to myself. _I shouldn't be. Maybe I'm being protective of him, he's like a brother to me, of course I'm going to feel this way about him._

Before I knew it I was already walking up the steps to enter my home. I reached for the knob but instinctively pulled back when the door flew open. Father stood there, he was a dark silhouette because of the fire in the kitchen. "Ilia, where have you been?" He asked in a calm manner, he wasn't angry or upset just a bit uneasy for my tardiness, "Little Beth informed me that you'd be late, but I just didn't know how late."

"Father, I'm sorry to have worried you."

He stepped aside and let me in, "Don't be, come now, I waited for you so that we can eat together. I made your favorite," He said as he poured the steaming soup into two ceramic bowls, "it's pumpkin with some bits of goat cheese." Father placed a bowl in front of me, he ruffled my hair quick enough before I could object and then sat down in his chair.

"Thank you,"

"Where were you?" He asked casually.

"I was at the spring, looking for two of my kids. The bell had rang...rung, but they didn't hear it." I raised a spoonful to my mouth, breathing in the delicious scent, "After I sent them off, I was flooded with memories of the now distant past." I saw that he raised his eyebrows, he seemed to know who I was talking about. Although I left out the part where Link showed up and that I actually met Zelda, the Princess of Hyrule, Father looked satisfied with my response.

We ate in silence, my father never really knew how to deal with the fact that his only daughter realized she lost her close friend and brother.

* * *

The moon had taken its rightful place in the sky.

Lying in bed I couldn't help but think of the princess, all of the rumors about her extraordinary beauty were true, although today she wasn't like everyone described. Her eyes looked worn, almost lifeless and hollow. It must've been from all of that traveling. She looked weak, like she hadn't been eating much.

_I hope Link and her stayed here, maybe I can cook something up for her in the morning and hopefully not raise suspicion with Father._

I sat up, looking out the window I imagined hearing Epona's whiny, but I didn't. My breath fogged up the glass and I found myself constantly wiping it away. I stared blankly at the entrance of the village and began to think.

_Maybe they didn't stay after all, maybe Link left with Zelda and abandoned Ordon shortly after I left. Maybe he wasn't truly happy here, he could've left any time he wanted, but maybe he didn't because he thought we'd look down upon him. Link had always been different, from us Ordonians anyways, in appearance and in personality. He kept to himself most of the time, and the one thing that everyone would notice is his long pointed ears. We all knew, especially him, that he was Hylian and not originally from Ordon._

The stars shined brightly against the darkness, I shivered.

_Maybe he never really liked Ordon like I thought he did. Maybe leaving might've been what he wanted to do but never found an opportunity, until he _had _to leave this terror stricken village in search for our safety. And now in doing so, maybe he liked being free to travel and continue his adventures without is having to interfere. And... and he has someone like him to keep him company, someone to care for him and support him._

I yawned and lifted the thin blankets over my bare shoulders, Ordon had always been cooler at night.

_Link and I have always been similar, we both grew up in Ordon, we understood each other, and absolutely adore Epona. We are -were- the only teenagers and had to look out for the children. We didn't have younger or older siblings, but to we saw ourselves as family. We were inseparable._ I frowned, 'were'. _But like Father always said, "Things change, Ilia, and sometimes it's for the best." Now seeing that Link is with Zelda, they seem to have even closer relationship than what we used to have. He looks at her in a way that a man looks at his wife, he looks at her protectively...with love and affection. He's the Hero to her, and she's_ his _Princess. Whatever they went through must've have brought them closer together during his journey._

I laid on my back, staring at the wooden ceiling, _m__aybe, maybe, maybe..._

_...Maybe I should get some rest._

* * *

_What do you think? Let me know, I'd appreciate it. If you have any questions, about _**_anything_**_, please let me know._


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